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It’s been nearly 3 years since I went through the legal process of getting my name changed, and I’m still dealing with getting documents updated.

For my pending job offer, I needed to submit verification of my high school diploma or GED, college transcripts, and work experience.

I couldn’t find my high school certificate, so I sent in a request along with copies of my court order for my name change. I got a call when they received my request saying that I’d have to send my court order somewhere else to be approved to update my name. I said fine and just asked if they could send my certificate as is so I could get on with the employment process.

The person who contacted me then sent me an email with information on what paperwork I needed to get my name updated and where to send it. One of the pieces of documentation was a note from my doctor indicate my name and gender change.

Now, if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, you’re wondering what my gender change has to do with the name on my records.

I responded:

I do have a question about the doctor’s note. My original doctor’s note was submitted to the court when I filed my petition for a name and gender change; therefore, I do not have a doctor’s note. Also, the doctor that wrote the note worked for Student Health Services at UCSD. I’m no longer a student there, and she no longer works there, so I have no way to contact her. Shouldn’t the court order be sufficient?

And here’s where things get ridiculous (her response):

Would you have copies of your doctor’s notes, that you may have kept for your reference, before you submitted the originals to the court. Also, wondering if you could check with the hospital where the surgery was performed for some type of documentation. This will come in handy for your future needs as well.

Please let me know.

Thank you and have a nice day!

It took me two days to muster a response that wasn’t just me going completely off on her. I still get extremely mad just thinking about it.

All my other legal documents are updated, to include my social security card, birth certificate, driver’s license, passport, etc. All these documents already indicate the gender that I am. I am completely dumbfounded at how this would even be necessary for a high school equivalency certificate. My college degrees don’t indicate gender on them, so why would a high school certificate?

And then there’s the issue that she implied that surgery is necessary for a gender change. I don’t know if it’s just plain ignorance or lack of training or what? But the whole situation is beyond my comprehension.

I responded to the best of my ability, and we’ll see what comes of it. I also sent an email asking about the process to update my name to an email address I could find which I think belongs to the person who will actually be approving my name change.

I can’t wait until my old name is gone for good. I still need to update my DD214 (military discharge papers), but up until recently, I thought that it wasn’t possible.

There is a transgender woman suing CrossFit for not allowing her to compete as female in the CrossFit Games (link to CNN story here). I first saw this story last night on TMZ. My coach sent me the link and asked what my thoughts were. I have to say, I’m really disappointed to see how bigoted and transmisogynist their response was. They obviously don’t understand the effect of hormones on the body by their comment, “the fundamental, ineluctable fact is that a male competitor who has a sex reassignment procedure still has a genetic makeup that confers a physical and physiological advantage over women.”

When registration for the CrossFit Open was going on, I was unsure of whether I would sign up. In their drug policy, it states that there would be no waiver given for people taking testosterone even if for the purpose of hormone replacement therapy. I’m not even sure how they would know on a drug test if your T levels were within a normal male range. Ultimately, I decided to sign up. There were a lot of people from my gym doing it, and I thought it would be fun to compare my results from this year to next.

I read some of the comments on the various news sites reporting this story. That was a mistake. I found it to be very disheartening, and I also wish people would educate themselves before opening their mouths (or typing). So many people went on about the advantages that this transgender woman would have over cisgender woman, as if testosterone was still coursing through her veins. In reality, after a year of HRT, the advantages given by testosterone are pretty much gone. I also noticed that no one had a problem with a theoretical transgender man competing because “he would have no chance of winning, anyway.” That comment alone makes me want to train harder and one day dominate a competition.

I’m really disappointed with CrossFit Headquarters, but I am so glad that I found a place in the CrossFit world where the people are very supportive. The other day, one of my fellow CrossFitters (and friend) told me that she thought of me as a little brother. It was very endearing. That makes being part of my CrossFit family all worth it. I hope that people looking to get into fitness don’t get discouraged by the assholes at CF HQ. Not all people in the CrossFit world are bigoted assholes.